Question RTX 3090 Voltage limit causing low gpu utilization

[Matt gibbi]

I noticed recently that my RTX 3090 seems to just get a game to around 60 fps then stops this is causing me a lot of frame drops and some very low fps when i'm streaming. Most games sit at around 40-50% utilization it's telling me it's hit it's voltage limit but I see others running the same games with the same card pushing close to if not at 100% utilization.

My card seems to reach about 1.082V from what I can see on MSI afterburner this does seem normal but I can't seem to figure out why mine is being limited when others aren't

this was taken right as I turned to a corner of the map so it spiked up then instantly dropped down to around 60 again.

My specs are:
GPU: RTX 3090
CPU: I7-10700K
RAM: 64 GB DDR4
Motherboard: Asus Tuf gaming Z490 Plus

*Edit

Slight update I ran some tests using 3dmark the DirectX 11 benchmarks hit 100% while the DirectX12 benchmarks cap out at the same levels mentioned above.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hey there,

What resolution is this at?

I can't seem to figure out why mine is being limited when others aren't

What others? You mean online? Youtube? Don't [ay to much heed to those videos. The guys doing them can say whatever they want, and it might not be reflective of real world differences.

Try doing some test with Super Position, Furmark, Heaven UNIGINE.

What power plan are you running? Is the GPU driver up to date.

What bios ar eyou running on your mobo?

 

[Matt gibbi]

Hey there,

What resolution is this at?


What others? You mean online? Youtube? Don't [ay to much heed to those videos. The guys doing them can say whatever they want, and it might not be reflective of real world differences.

Try doing some test with Super Position, Furmark, Heaven UNIGINE.

What power plan are you running? Is the GPU driver up to date.

What bios ar eyou running on your mobo?

I'm running at 1080P
And yeah the examples I saw where people recording gameplay for youtube vids with Afterburner showing their stats.

I have run some benchmark tests using Heaven Unigine and the GPU reaches 100% no problems.

My power plan is set to max performance both in the windows power management settings and on nvidea control panel

I just re-flashed my GPU Bios to the factory setting this morning and my Motherboard is fully updated.

 

[Dragos Manea]

If it is windows 11 try to deactivate "Core Isolation", this looks like a cpu limitation and NOT a gpu problem.

 

[Matt gibbi]

If it is windows 11 try to deactivate "Core Isolation", this looks like a cpu limitation and NOT a gpu problem.

It's windows 10. I looked at my individual CPU cores and not one of them is being pushed to 100%

 

[Phaaze88]

Check it again using Gpu-Z(sensors tab) to be sure this is voltage limited.
Does 'PerfCap Reason' display VRel or VOp?
VRel is the silicon hitting it's limit; the next boost bin(~15mhz) on the gpu's boost curve won't be stable, so it dynamically backs off.
VOp is the voltage regulator's limit; the VR can't supply enough voltage for the next boost bin.

It is normal for there to be at least one reason as to why a gpu won't boost further, but Thermal is by far the worst limit to appear.

 

[Matt gibbi]

Check it again using Gpu-Z(sensors tab) to be sure this is voltage limited.
Does 'PerfCap Reason' display VRel or VOp?
VRel is the silicon hitting it's limit; the next boost bin(~15mhz) on the gpu's boost curve won't be stable, so it dynamically backs off.
VOp is the voltage regulator's limit; the VR can't supply enough voltage for the next boost bin.

It is normal for there to be at least one reason as to why a gpu won't boost further, but Thermal is by far the worst limit to appear.

This is from my latest run of the 3DMark Time spy benchmark.
It does seem to be mostly VRel

So if I flatten out the boost curve it should keep going?

 

[Phaaze88]

This is from my latest run of the 3DMark Time spy benchmark.
It does seem to be mostly VRel

So if I flatten out the boost curve it should keep going?

It should keep going... where?
The cards are designed to pursue their limits; they dynamically overclock themselves, and some AIB models have OCs on top of that.
If it reaches one of the limits, it only backs off on clock speed a little, then tries to go right back up. Rinse and repeat.
If hundreds of mhz is being dropped, then there's something else going on.

So, does it drop hundreds of mhz in this particular game?

 

[Matt gibbi]

It should keep going... where?
The cards are designed to pursue their limits; they dynamically overclock themselves, and some AIB models have OCs on top of that.
If it reaches one of the limits, it only backs off on clock speed a little, then tries to go right back up. Rinse and repeat.
If hundreds of mhz is being dropped, then there's something else going on.

So, does it drop hundreds of mhz in this particular game?

My GPU clock sits at around 1780MHz boosts to about 1960MHz

I don't get any drops.

 

[Phaaze88]

My GPU clock sits at around 1780MHz boosts to about 1960MHz

I don't get any drops.

If clock isn't falling off a cliff, then I run out of reasons to point fingers at the gpu, because it sounds like it's doing what it can.


Going back to this from your initial post:

I see others running the same games with the same card pushing close to if not at 100% utilization.

You are going to have to ask these users what they have in storage, game settings, any powershell commands, stream settings, and so on, to achieve what they did. 'Cause often these results are posted with the bare minimum necessities - compromises that you may not be able to make.